Retrace
by YoshiFurbyPhoenixGirl257
Summary: Elliot and Leo come across a boy calling himself Glen on their way home.  At that, a ripple runs through the Abyss.
1. Glen

_Give him back._

A girl sat before elaborate gates looming before her, something incomprehensible lurking behind them. The gates to the Abyss. The girl's emerald eyes bore into the depths lurking behind the indomitable golden bars.

_Give my brother back._

There was no answer, of course. The Abyss just took whatever it pleased from her, and supposedly she had no right to challenge it. So she was just supposed to continue her life, and forget all about her older brother?

Right. Like that'd ever happen. And as such once every year, on the anniversary of the day everything changed, Ada Vessalius ventured to the depths of a shrine she had no right to know about to challenge a power she had no right to question.

Or no right to an answer, at the very least. Over the past years Ada had come to expect as much and an indignant fury continued to grow as she stared at the vast nothing beyond the bars.

For the next several hours this would continue, her own form of protest against the actions fate had seemingly taken. She would not merely accept her separation from her brother... Ever.

And in the back of her mind, Ada's thoughts wandered away from her intended purpose. She wondered if it would happen once again; that as she finally left, would the image of a crimson eye would once more emerge unbidden in her mind?

* * *

><p>"So, Elliot,"<p>

Said Nightray turned to his companion, a short boy with dark hair and near black eyes, heeding the other's words.

"Have you read the latest Holy Knight book?"

His companion wears a smile that is content and pleased, and Elliot returns it with a delighted grin.

"Of course I have! It was great! What did you think of that new character, Adam?"

The two walk down the path leading to town, returning from a visit with a friend whose rural tendencies sparked Elliot's ire to no end.

"Hmm..." the other considers as he stretches his arms behind his back, "I'm not actually quite sure of that yet, come to think of it... I guess must have just kinda forgotten about him... I mean... Edgar died."

Elliot stopped walking, and his friend turned, questioning.

"That... I didn't like that part..." Elliot said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

The other frowned, "I didn't think you would. I thought you'd be yelling and ranting about it., like you usually do whenever the author decides to write more than three sentences on Edgar.." The anomaly bothered the companion, and he took a few steps closer to his friend.

Elliot closed his eyes and tried to banish the nagging sensation that that particular event in the Holy Knight somehow managed to arouse in him. It was true he disliked Edgar, and yelled at his companion at great length about the man more or less every time he was brought up. The man's tendency to not value his own life and the troubles he made others go through because of it irked Elliot to no end; the guy was truly despicable as far as Elliot could care.

"Yes, but... There's something about that part that just... Bugs me..." and it made no sense to Elliot, so with an angry scoff he plunged further down the road. With yet another frown his companion followed, although altogether disconcerted at his friend's unfamiliar behavior.

What was it that bothered him about that character's death? It was entirely characteristic of Edgar, why did it keep throwing Elliot off again and again and again? It was as if something was at the very brink of his mind, but whatever that thought was, it kept eluding him and eluding him and eluding him, much to the Nightray's great ire. An ire that managed to let the ground beneath his feet escape his notice, and the next thing he knew his feet shuffled over an unfamiliar surface, lost his balance, and came crashing to the ground.

"What the hell?" he cursed, rubbing a scrape on the elbow that caught on a stray branch. A stray branch which was not what he tripped over.

"Elliot!" his companion ran the two steps separating them and gave the other a hand. Together they looked at what Elliot had tripped over. Two legs covered in long, black but stained pants, infringing on the edge of the path, the body they belonged to obscured by the bushes.

"Um..." the companion murmurs, at a loss of what to say. Elliot kneeled by the culprit and tried to haul him out of the bushes.

"Give me a hand, Leo." The other hesitates a moment before doing so. Together, they manage to drag the body onto the road.

Leo was silent for a moment, and then, "I don't like this, Elliot."

Elliot checked for a pulse on the face-down body, belonging to a boy perhaps a year or two older than them. "He's alive," Elliot announced and grabbed the boy's shoulder.

"I really don't like this. We have no idea why he's here, or who he i-"

Elliot had turned over the body, and didn't wonder why his companion's words had trailed off, his would have too. The boy on the ground had an uncanny resemblance to Leo. "What the hell... Leo...?"

But his companion only shook his head, he had no idea what was going on either. Elliot frowned and returned his attention to the boy that Elliot would believe in a heartbeat was Leo's brother.

"Hey." He shook the boy's shoulder, curious and baffled, and the best bet for any sort of answer was the boy himself. "Hey." He shook harder, and then the boy stirs of his own volition. Dazed, the stranger opened his eyes, struggled into a sitting position, wincing as he did so. An unease rose further in Elliot, and he wasn't sure if it were for the boy's disturbing similarity to Leo or the number of tears in the boy's clothes, rimmed in dark, dried blood.

"What... Happened to you?" he demanded, but Elliot swallowed before continuing, "Who are you?" And then the boy blinked, jerking to attention so suddenly Elliot was taken aback. A silence continued as the boy just stared, looking at Elliot with an expression of sheer disbelief and wordless, blank shock.

"What?" Elliot shouted, annoyed at being looked at in such a manner, but the other gave no reaction. It was really starting to piss him off.

"Elliot..." Leo's voice trailed off. He stood at one side of the boy, and opposite him Elliot was on the ground.

"Leo, go to the town and get some one," Elliot muttered, glaring at the weirdo they had stumbled across.

"No." Came Leo's short reply, carried in a voice that held no room for argument. There was no way he was leaving Elliot alone in middle of the woods with such a suspicious person. Elliot scowled, and the stranger looked at Leo, some questioning silence lurking in his gaze. A gaze Leo refused to meet, the other really did resemble so much so it could almost be a mirror, even if the stranger seemed older and his hair was different.

Oh. And his eyes. Eyes that could've been identical to his own, except they weren't, and it put every hair on Leo's body on end. It wasn't just the dazed, unbelieving emotion they held, no, it was something far less subtle than that. It shouldn't have been possible for something like it to exist, but Leo could swear he saw some sort of unreal lights imbedded in the stranger's eyes. More than anything else about the boy, about the whole situation, that disturbed Leo the most. And a bizarre fear, frightfully familiar, threatened to drown him at the sight – no, even the thought – of the stranger's eyes. Perhaps it would have been a relief to run the rest of the way to town and summon help, but abandoning Elliot in a situation like this would be unthinkable.

"G... Glen..." the boy muttered after a long pause, his attention turning from Leo to Elliot. "My name is Glen... I guess..."

Elliot's eyebrow twitched. "You _guess_? What does that even _mean?, _you 'guess'?" 'Glen', still lost in dazed shock, didn't answer. Elliot scowled, then rolled his eyes. At least he got some answer. "Well, Glen, what are you doing here?" He eyed the tears of the boy's clothes, unaware whatever extent of damage lay beneath. "What happened to you?"

For a moment, Glen only watched Elliot, and somehow Elliot found himself entranced by the other's eyes. Just like Leo's, they were beautiful. Except perhaps even more so, something gorgeously strange dwelt in them. Gorgeous, but at the same time- Glen's eye contact snapped away with even more ferocity then when he had noticed Elliot. Glen broke more than just eye contact. He entirely lurched away from Elliot, facing the ground, fingers wrapping around strands of grass at the edge of the road, his body stiff.

Elliot moved towards Glen, concerned at the other's fearful reaction. "Hey-" he reached out to touch Glen, but he flinched violently away.

"I..." Glen's fearful, whimpering ghost of a voice trembled, his breathing ragged, "I..." and the boy's tone shifted as he lowly hissed, "I don't remember anything." And at that Glen turned, meeting Elliot's gaze, his face unreadable. A chill ran down Elliot's spine, and Elliot was left once again guessing at why, was it because Glen was an amnesiac, or the empty chill, tinged with practically palpable resolve, the boy's tone assumed seconds after quavering on the brink of breaking down? _Doesn't remember...?_ Elliot thought, observing Glen as his breathing slowly calmed. _I suppose that's why he said "I guess"... That explains it..._

"Yes... I can't remember..." Glen climbed to his feet, a solemn, grim expression on his face as he took in his surroundings. His gaze crossed over Elliot's form, still on the ground, and then that expression completely evaporated as if it had never even been there. Instead he were a positively delighted smile, and his eyes shone with happiness – or was there tears as well? All in all, Leo, who had been watching the proceedings with a close and wary eye, found Glen to be completely overcome with joy, infinitely more so than any child would be on Christmas. There shouldn't be any reason for such elation, and it disturbed Leo as much as it increased his distrust of this Glen.

"Hehe," Glen chuckled, half walking, half skipping, half _dancing _a couple steps down the road. "Hahaha!" Elliot looked over his shoulder, baffled at this boy they had come across, and rose to his feet, standing beside Leo.

Glen spread his arms out to his side, now lost in ecstatic laughter, and pivoted around, running back closer to Leo and Elliot, the latter taking a small step forward, placing himself between Glen and Leo. As Glen reached Elliot, his laughter stopped, and he looked like he wanted to say something.

"_What?_" Elliot snapped, reaching his wit's end with this freak. Yet as his euphoric grin faded, Glen only gave Elliot an undecipherable smile before turning away.

Leo let out the breath he had been holding since Glen approached them. "Elliot," he whispered in his friend's ear, "I really don't like that guy." Glen had gone a couple paces a head of them and sat squarely in middle of the middle of the road, his back to them and his head upturned, and to Leo's dismay he noticed it was already dark and stars were out.

"I know, Leo," Elliot murmured, watching Glen, "He annoys me too." And Leo wanted to protest that it wasn't _annoyance_ that he felt at Glen, no, instead the other boy outright disturbed Leo. Leo wanted nothing more than to take Elliot and run away from that boy that looked too much like him. Flee the area and never have to meet those damnable eyes ever again.

"But I can't just abandon him here," Elliot continued, and Leo wanted to yell that yes, they could. Could, and, beyond any trace of doubt in Leo's mind, should.

"Hah," Leo muttered, disgust lacing his voice. "That's awfully kind of you, Elliot," sarcastic venom ran along the length of his words. It wouldn't work; Leo knew it wouldn't work.

Elliot glared at Leo, then scowled. "Look, he's lost and doesn't remember anything. I doubt anyone knows him, and am less sure anyone would help him... He's too... Weird..."

Leo rolled his eyes, "Yeah? So, we should get involved? I mean, really, is he even acting like he wants help?" Leo whispered, keeping his voice down so Glen wouldn't overhear. "And how do you know he's telling the truth anyways? We don't have any idea who he really is or what he's up to. And you saw the state he's in! Do we really have to get embroiled in this trouble?" Leo gushed, desperately trying to convince Elliot and trying even harder to keep his voice down as his anger – no, fury – started to rise.

Elliot, who had been watching Glen while quietly listening to Leo, turned to his closest friend. "So, then, you aren't curious? Why that guy looks so much like you?"

He wasn't, not in the least. No, Leo was down right terrified of finding out. But Elliot's face carried a quiet, thoughtful expression, and in his heart Leo knew Elliot had already made up his mind. And that knowledge made his heart sink like a stone. "You're going to help him?" Leo asked, voice quiet. If this was Elliot's choice, he'd support him in anyway he could manage. Elliot nodded. "Fine..."

**What? What? Ugh, I'm sorry. This story ran away from me at the end. I somehow ended up on autopilot, the thing started writing itself, and as such it'll probably be even more ooc than it already is. Which is annoying. Except I haven't been able to write, _at all_, in the longest time, so it's kind of good. But, yes, I'm terribly worried about ooc-ness in this story. On one hand, due to the scenario, it is inevitable, but on the other... Okay, I'm a horrible person. I was supposed to write the whole thing before posting this, because I really don't have the commitment to properly do chapter stories, so I was going to write the whole thing as a one shot, but, um, I felt like I needed a break, and hopefully, feedback. Except now that this thing has become with chapters, I guess I need to properly fill in all the gaps that were in my original outline. Gaah, what is this doing? Well, this has been interesting, I've managed to write something rather easily (finally) even though I really think it's rather poor writing. When I first thought of this story, I never thought I'd actually bother writing it. Hopefully someday I'll rewrite this whole monster and make it better. But, even though I'm pretty sure it's not that great, I'm rather satisfied with this. Unfortunately, I now can't use the summary I had been planning to use. Harummm... A summary I agree to for this fic is hard... And unoriginal title is unoriginal, but it is rather apt, better than anything else I've thought of, so I'll keep it. Except for maybe Paradox Hearts. But that's still rather unoriginal. Oh well. **

**In any case, reviews and critiques would be much appreciated. I'm not entirely sure how well I'm doing with this story, and if there are any outstanding flaws I'd much appreciate having them pointed out. Or minor flaws. Or thoughts. **

**Oh, and in the ph manga Elliot and Leo were (I believe) 16. In this fic, they're 14; it's set two years earlier for some arbitrary reason that the best excuse I can come up with is I wanted 'Glen' to be older than the others, in part so that Leo and Glen wouldn't be as close in appearance, in part because... I just wanted it that way... Oh, for clarity's sake, it really _is_ rather arbitrary. If I really wanted to I could write this in the same time period as the manga with out too many changes. **

**But, um, I'm really worried about how I'm portraying the characters in this, so any tips in that regard would be much appreciated.**


	2. Alive

_It should have been all over. Leo Baskerville knew without question everything had ended. No matter whatever resulted because of his actions, whatever he gained for his sacrifice, those things which he was to never know, Leo could no longer do anything to change it. Reaching his goal, he had to also pay the price, forever remaining in the twisted abyss's grasp, alone for eternity. He accepted this, after all it wasn't actually terribly different then the so-called 'real world' he had left behind. As long as Elliot could be saved, Leo didn't care what happened to himself. Himself, or anyone else. All this Leo knew and accepted, and so he found the idea of ever being touched by any light again unthinkable. _

_Yet for the first seconds of consciousness, Leo forgot all that, only knowing the vague feel of dirt beneath him and an aching soreness in too many places to fully count. It wasn't until he heard a voice that he realized something was amiss – very, very amiss. _

"_**Hey."** Deja vu is painful. "Hey." **"- you, what are you doing here?"** Leo's heart raced even as his disconnected body struggled to sit up, but thundering memories dominated his mind, and he's entirely lost in them as they blindly illuminate it like brilliant lightning flashes that would sear his now-unguarded eyes. -**Sitting, nose buried in a book – his hair still hung in his eyes then, didn't they? – back against a bookshelf – A now-laughable irritation at being intruded upon – **_**Elliot.**_** - Icy blue eyes, pale blond hair, that arrogant (amusing) manner – Utter disconcertion at his ridiculous insistence to keep coming back (Why? Why, why, why, why? Had he just left like all the others, then...).** Those recollections were nothing less than sunshine, and yet something cold wrapped around Leo as they cascaded by. Scream. He so wanted to scream, scream and despair because they were nothing more than memory._

_All that had ended, swallowed by the darkness, because that's all Leo has ever been, and yet he dared stand by Elliot. Selfish, horrible, disgusting, **vile**, – all his fault. Luring the chain and wounding Elliot, forcing him into a contract, haunted by nightmares, his brothers murdered... Because of **him**, and because of him, Elliot's **dead** and his body's pale and that face can't form his smile anymore and this sticky blood plasters him and it **stinks** and his chest is all still beneath Leo's face, and there's no heart beat, no heart beat no heart beat no pulse at all, all because of him, and it's sick and isn't he screaming? There's a distant voice ("**What... Happened to you?"**), but that doesn't matter, **nothing** matters, because Leo heard **his** voice and now all he could remember was that it was all his fault, and Elliot's dead. Dead and stiff and in a cold grave all alone and not breathing and not smiling and not yelling and not living and - looking at Leo with a decidedly concerned expression as he spoke. Leo blinked, his own, already racing, heartbeat doubling as he finally registers what's right in front of him. _

_Elliot's there, and no, Leo hasn't been screaming, how could he? Somehow, Elliot's here and there's no nauseating red blood, no sightless eyes or inert body, no, his eyes are bright and blue, just like they always were, and there's an easy rhythm of life in his breath and his heart's beating, Leo swore he could hear it, his heart's beating and beating and beating and Elliot's alive, alive and Leo can't even form words, only stare. _

_Alive (he's actually alive). Alive (Of course he was). Alive (Hadn't this been the plan all along?). Alive (Yes, that's true). Alive (And yet, then what was he doing here? Leo was supposed to stay in the abyss forever – he had no right to see this). Alive. Alive. Alive (Elliot's alive, and nothing else matters)._

_Elliot's there, right before him, Elliot and his insensitive rants and delicate piano-playing and unexpectedly voracious reading and his incorruptible, **beating**, heart, and given this chance Leo wanted to always stay by his side._

* * *

><p>Faint lamplights lit the town the trio had arrived at, the streets empty except for the occasional watchman. The three journeyed in silence, Elliot trying not to notice the occasional euphoric glance Glen threw at him or manic giggle the older boy couldn't quite seem to always keep to himself that ruptured the night's tranquility, Leo acutely aware of each and every one of them. Elliot and Leo were late, late in leaving George's house and their tardiness had only been exacerbated by Glen, and Elliot wondered where he would begin explaining the boy to his family. They rounded a corner, and Glen's sporadic gigglings tapered off, the boy instead settling with quietly absorbing his new surroundings, eying them curiously.<p>

"You live here?" Glen eventually asked.

"... Yeah," Elliot replied, gradually growing more and more aware of how tired he was.

"... Oh. I see..."

Elliot frowned, unable to make heads or tails of what Glen 'saw', but then Leo, still watching Glen with a close eye, caught Elliot's attention.

"Ah. Leo? Aren't you going?"

Silence pervaded for a moment, Leo's expression serious as he finally released Glen from his scrutiny to observe Elliot. He shook his head. "... No. ...I'd like to see how you're going to deal with your family, Elliot." Leo continued to scour Elliot, still unhappy with his friend's decision and determined that Elliot should be fully aware of the consequences of what he undertook.

Elliot cringed in annoyance. "I know, Leo. I've been thinking about it. Maybe-"

"Ah."

Elliot blinked and turned to the one that had spoken, Glen, and found some relief that, _for once,_ the boy wasn't smiling.

"Maybe it'd be better if I didn't, Elliot..."

Leo glowered, annoyed at Glen calling Elliot's name when he hadn't been introduced. It wasn't odd that Glen knew it, Leo had called it plenty of times in Glen's vicinity, and truth be told it was more Elliot's fault for forgetting to introduce himself. But Leo hardly blamed Elliot's oversight in etiquette; Glen's too bizarre.

Elliot's expression sat somewhere between bored and unconvinced. "Really? You have somewhere else to go, Glen?"

For a moment Glen's silent, and Leo desperately wants to know what the unknown, suspicious boy seemed to consider in his silence. "No..." he finally answered, his voice almost a whisper.

"Alright. It's decided," Elliot declared, and strode up the few steps leading to the door. "Come on, Glen. Leo, are you coming as well?"

Leo sighed before slipping into a smile and stepping forward. "If you would be so kind as to pardon my intrusion, Elliot," he said in a light, joking manner, letting go for a moment of his distrust of Glen to fall into his old familiarity with Elliot, who rolled his eyes and muttered "idiot" before entering his house. Leo followed, and, after crossing the threshold, looked behind him. Glen still stood outside, hesitating, apparently, and Leo wasn't sure what to make of his expression other than Glen had seemingly fallen out of his gleeful state.

"Are you coming?" Leo asked, a dangerous edge in his tone as he spoke to the stranger for the first time. Glen looked at Leo, who, despite being the one asking questions, immediately averted his eyes. Even when avoiding eye contact, those accursed, shining eyes accosted Leo, his breathing growing short and he struggled to maintain composure. Half an instant later, Glen turned away and started to move past Leo. Fighting to master his quavering emotions, Leo gulped a breath and then snatched Glen's shoulder, who then froze, wincing slightly as Leo dug his fingers deeper where an injury of unknown origin lay.

"Listen," Leo hissed, and by some blessing Glen didn't turn to Leo but only stared ahead, "I don't know who you are or what you're after... But know that I'll be watching you. Don't you dare betray Elliot's kindness," Glen then shifted, ending his blessing as he peered over his shoulder at Leo, an utterly amused smirk adorning his face that caused Leo to flinch.

Once again, Leo found himself already cursing his luck at finding the boy. Whether it be his eyes, his resemblance to himself, or the chilling delight evident every time Glen saw Elliot, Glen's presence disturbed Leo at every turn. Leo inhaled, rallying himself together for one final remark. "I mean it. Hurt him, and I swear I'll make you regret it."

Glen muttered something in response that Leo couldn't quite make out, and Leo recoiled, releasing Glen from his grip.

"Leo? Glen?"

Leo's attention snapped up to Elliot, who had apparently returned from fetching his mother. Mrs. Nightray took her time in ambling down the hall, stifling a yawn as she went. She was hardly in a presentable state, and yet it was late and Leo and Elliot had been friends for years and the woman didn't care much for overbearing formality, especially when her husband wasn't around to enforce it.

"Elliot," Leo replied, "Good evening, Mrs. Nightray," he called to the woman now reaching the entryway. There was a sharp intake of breath, and Leo noticed Glen beside him, the older boy taking a few deep breaths and his eyes closed. Leo pursed his lips and walked over to Elliot, all the while keeping an eye on Glen and waiting to see how – and if – he would introduce himself.

"Mother, this is Glen," Elliot intervened, gesturing to the messy boy. Glen muttered a quiet greeting, and Leo noted that Glen didn't actually look directly at Mrs. Nightray but somewhere slightly above her instead.

"...Yes?" Mrs. Nightray prompted, waiting for a good reason that the foreign, unkempt boy should be standing in her house.

Elliot gulped, "Look, he's lost and doesn't remember anything. Can't he just stay for a while? I'll look after-"

"I'll work," Glen suddenly spoke up, "No matter what it is. I don't want to burden you, but there's not much else I can do. But I'll work."

"Elliot-" Mrs. Nightray began, her tone frustrated, but as she observed her youngest son she gave a sigh of defeat. "He can stay the night, at least. Then we'll talk with your father, whenever he gets back from Sablier. And the police."

Relief swept over Elliot at his mother's response. "Thank you, mother!" he beamed.

Glen's attention seemed to have fixed on a point on the floor, but he too murmured, "I'm extremely grateful for your generosity, Lady Nightray."

"Lady..?" Mrs. Nightray's expression turned amused. "Well, maybe you won't be so bad. I've never been called a 'lady' before, haha," and Leo spied a taken aback Glen, as if the response had been something unimaginable. Mrs. Nightray turned and declared her intent of returning to bed and leaving Glen in Elliot's care.

Leo sighed and turned to Elliot. "I'm sorry, but I better be going home now." He really was, too. It may be the town with his family instead of alone in middle of the woods, but Leo still wasn't fond of the idea of leaving Elliot and Glen together.

"Okay, see you later, Leo," Elliot replied.

"Elliot, just be careful, okay?" Leo whispered to his friend before he walked to the door. Elliot only rolled his eyes in response, while Glen watched the entire exchange as if he wasn't at all sure of what was going on.

The door clicked shut and Leo was gone. Sleepy, Elliot rubbed his head. He really wanted to go bed, but Glen needed to be attended to first. "Come with me. Ernest should have some old clothes that might fit you..." He plunged down the hallway, eager to be done with it all and go to bed.

"Elliot?" Glen's voice had unsure, cautious tone. "What is Sablier?"

Elliot turned, looking back at the boy incredulously. "I guess you really don't remember anything, then?" Glen continued to await a real answer in silence, and even Elliot noticed the boy's nervous gulp. It couldn't be easy, Elliot supposed, not knowing anything.

"Sablier is the capital."

"... Of course it is," Glen murmured at long last, a smile on his face and a smile devoid of the usual glee.

Elliot frowned. _One day,_ he decided, _I'll understand this guy._ "Come on," he ordered, "You need to go get cleaned up."

* * *

><p>An hour later Leo Baskerville, known only as Glen to his hosts, lay buried in a nest of clean sheets, wearing warm, fresh clothes and his wounds bandaged. Finally separated, Leo's near-ceaseless euphoria subsided, and his thoughts drifted to what he had learned. Regardless of how, or why, Leo had left the Abyss, and entered a world where Elliot still lived... The world Leo sacrificed everything to create. A world where Sablier was still the capital. A world where the Nightrays lost their prestige. A world where 'Leo' was not Elliot's servant, but neither a Baskerville.<p>

A world unblemished by the Will of the Abyss.

A world where Elliot wouldn't die.

And how very different it was. The Nightrays, a failing dukedom a century earlier, had now faded into obscurity. Remotely it occurred to Leo that, not only the Nightrays, but none of the Four Great Dukedoms would exist, and neither would Pandora. How great! They had been nothing but trouble in the first place.

A giggle escaped Leo lips and a smile broke over his face, and he risked losing himself in his delight once more. Yet darker thoughts encroached on his mind, and he rolled over in the bed, laughter forgotten. He had lied to Elliot. There hadn't been much of a choice, but that didn't lessen Leo's dislike of it. Claiming his name to be 'Leo' when there's a boy who looked almost identical to him with the same name right there would raise far more questions then Leo could ever hope to provide an explanation for, and 'Glen' _was_ his name, in a matter of speaking. Yet something else preyed far more heavily on Leo's mind. _"What happened to you?"_

Leo would far sooner die before he would tell Elliot 'what happened' – or rather, 'what he had done'. For one, Leo wouldn't even know where to begin explaining, and even if it he could, he would very likely be considered insane (again) and who would believe him? More than that, Leo couldn't bare the thought of tainting this world with knowledge of the sins of the old. Yet those were minor concerns in comparison to the abominable, detestable idea of letting Elliot know. What happened to the Nightrays, to Elliot himself, what Leo did after that... There was no way Leo would – no way Leo _could_ – ever allow Elliot to know.

That stupid fool would want to find out, of course. Leo was only rescued from his panic back at the woods by the thought of _Alice_. There are a great many things Leo could say about the once unremarkable, if brash and wild, girl, but her amnesia was his saving grace in that instant, and Leo resolved to 'not remember'. That was just as well, hardly any of his memories he _wanted_ to remember. He was perfectly content – entirely elated – to leave that messy past stained black by blood behind him and just remain by Elliot's side.

Leo sighed and rolled onto his back, embracing that decision. He allowed the joy to wash back over him, laying aside his troubles, because Elliot's _alive,_ and for the first time Leo felt so as well. He waited to fall asleep, excited for what the next day might bring.

Leo shut his eyes and as minutes clicked past the darkness seemed to grow deeper, and an uncertainty started to well within him. It started as a mere slight nagging sensation that could easily be drowned out. Yet it continued to grow and flourish, and then Leo couldn't bear it any more. He jerked upright, panting. Alone in that dark room, it occurred to him that Elliot might have only been a dream. Leo's fingers dug into the covers. When he awoke, would he be in the Abyss? Just the thought of waking up in the cold desolation of the Abyss after being gifted with this beautiful, perfect world made him break into cold sweat.

Too easily, couldn't this all be nothing more than a dream, a wonderful, blessed dream? If that happened to be the case, Leo wanted to hang on to it to the last instant of existence and disappear in the moment it ended. He never wanted to leave, now that Elliot was back, and they could fight and laugh together. It may have been true that Leo had accepted never seeing Elliot again and remaining in the Abyss for eternity, but having the one thing he desired the most thrown into his arms was too much for Leo to resist, and he grabbed onto it desperately, and would do anything to keep it.

Gulping, Leo warded off every supplication for sleep his weary body implored him to accept. He couldn't fall asleep. Leaving this world seemed unbearable.

"_Leo."_ A voice sounded from nowhere, and Leo's sleepiness fled at the sound, a sound that sent a jet of ice running down his spine and hardened his spirit. _"The Abyss is-" _the previous head of Baskerville started, but Leo forcibly squashed the consciousness down.

Regardless of what happened with the Abyss, Leo was not the head of Baskerville. Now, that burden fell to another, and all Leo wanted was to stay by Elliot.

** Rubicon Thank you very much and I'm glad to hear that.**

** Plot Thief ... You know, I fear that this fic might not live up to your (or anyone else's) expectations. Well, nothing quite like pressure to motivate me. I think this chapter answered most of your speculations. I'm not quite sure what you mean by your last one, but I'll put it this way: the paradox will make a mess that _someone_ will have to clean up. Cookies to whoever can guess who. **

**Author confessions: I think I had the idea for this story about a month before actually writing it. However, it wasn't until I was in middle of writing the first chapter that I gave any thought to Leo's (Um... normal/not-glen Leo) character. Writing this chapter made me realize some directions I should take with him, although I'm pretty split what to do with him in the end. Also, I really really was supposed to include a passage with Ada in this chapter, but I got so sick and tired of writing it... And Ada is impossible to write. Also, I feel like the bit with Mrs. Nightray is horrible, and I really had no idea how to handle that whole situation. Still, hopefully there'll plenty of other situations that I'll handle better and should be far more enjoyable. **

**On other notes, I really feel that this fic might not meet some people's expectations, which is too bad. Also, writing Elliot is like charging full speed at the top of a cliff, I barely have any idea what I'm doing or if I'm being true to his character but the words just. keep. going. Writing Leo (Glen) takes effort, but doesn't feel like work (at least for the first part. The last part it started to drag and get rather tough), and is generally very satisfying and enjoyable. Leo (not-Glen) has been an interesting experience, but I really should write a character when I actually know the character (Yoshi fails :'( ) But on the other hand, that was my exact problem with Ada. I know exactly what I want to do with her and how I want to portray her, but writing her is near impossible because I can never get the words to match my ideas quite perfectly enough. That's my failing in writing ability, I guess, and something that only practice can cure. So I suppose it's for the best that I'm writing this 'oneshot' (Well, it really _was _supposed to be...) before attempting two others whose ideas and stories I've been intermittently developing for over a year. On the brighter side, this fic does stand a good chance of being completed, mainly because I love the ending so much. For all who care, this fic should have 5-8 chapters more, unless I lose interest, decide a scene to be idiotic, or gain more inspiration. **

**Well, while I did say that I think this fic might not live up to expectations, I still from the bottom of my heart hope you have enjoyed it. Reviews, comments, critiques and anything else of the sort greatly appreciated. **


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